Regardless of whether the Redskins were or weren’t concerned about protests that did or didn’t happen inside FedEx Field on Sunday, the opposition to the team’s name will follow the team to Minnesota for its Thursday night prime-time game against the Vikings.
Oneida Indian Nation has purchased advertising time on KFAN in Minneapolis, with a spot opposing the name to be broadcast on Thursday.
“Americans agree that hateful, derogatory slurs against ethnic groups are unacceptable and yet the Washington NFL team continues to perpetuate such speech on a national and international stage.” Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter said in a release. “The Change the Mascot campaign to end the use of the damaging R-word is not going away.”
The support of the name isn’t going away, either, and it primarily consists of: (1) pointing out that Native Americans aren’t saying they’re offended by the name; and (2) denigrating and/or disregarded those Native Americans who say they’re offended by the name.
Meanwhile, former Vikings safety Joey Browner, who says he’s 3/4ths Native American, plans to participate Thursday in a “conscience walk” organized by the American Indian Movement. The walk will span the one mile from the AIM headquarters to the Metrodome to oppose the team’s name.
“It should be changed,’' Browner told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It should have been changed a long time ago. [The Redskins are] making multi billions over a word that was something they put a bounty up [historically] for hunting season for [indigenous] scalps. . . . Other organizations have changed their names and come back thriving. . . .
“I want to show that I’m indigenous and I want to show a conscious awareness to the world. We need to change the imagery presented to our children.”
And so we’ll now wait for someone who supports the name to attack Browner’s claim that he’s 75-percent Native American, or to perhaps point out that Browner’s opposition to the name comes from the 25-percent of him that necessarily is hopelessly liberal.